The Drama that was Miss Universe 2015!

Miss Universe 2015 Pia Alonzo Wutrzbach
Let me stray from my usual posts about male pageants. This time, I would like to talk about the Miss Universe 2015 because of the drama that unfolded before the eyes of millions of televiewers and the subsequent reactions from pageant fans and followers.
Pia in Yamamay swimwuit

It was a moment every top candidate of Miss Universe would want to have. The moment when only two ladies are waiting for the final result and the winner is announced. Yet that moment was robbed from the Miss Universe 2015 winner, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach of the Philippines, as the host made a mistake in naming the winner as Miss Colombia. Pia, who has consistently performed exceptionally well during all the rounds in the competition, was expected by many to win the competition.


When the crown and sash was finally handed over to Pia, the delegates went to congratulate the winner, while some delegates rushed to Miss Colombia to comfort her, who cried unabashedly afterwards. After a while, Pia went near Miss Colombia to apologize about what happened but was not able to do so because a member of the organizing committee already ushered her to go to another place for the press conference. The action of Pia, a sign of humility on her part though it is not her fault, endeared her even more to her fans. It was only at the backstage, while Pia was being prepped up for the press conference did she let go her emotions and cried. During the press conference, Pia showed her concern for Miss Colombia.

Steve Harvey later on apologized to Pia for the mistake and even posted a message on instagram.


The Miss Universe Organization also posted this message on twitter:
 


Of course, what had happened became an instant hit on social media. Miss Universe 2015 became the talk of the universe! This was further aggravated with Miss Colombia posting a photo on instagram showing her photos during the crowning by mistake...“This moments will always be with me,” she wrote in a post accompanying several photos of her short-lived stint as Miss Universe. A stint which should never have happened if not for the gaffe.

 

Because of that post of Miss Colombia, one of the judges, Perez Hilton commented that all of the judges have voted for Miss Philippines. He further stated:

"She didn’t win and she didn’t deserve to win. We didn’t vote for her and one of the reasons why I didn’t was because she didn’t answer the questions as well and also, she gave off this arrogant vibe. She’s putting these Instagram posts up about how she’s the real winner, but she’s not! We didn’t vote for her! She didn’t win! … What she is doing on Instagram is indicative of who she is as a person." (source)
The four judges confirmed that they ALL voted for Miss Philippines!

An interview with Miss Germany after the pageant also drew many criticisms, saying that none of them (candidates) voted for Miss Philippines. When asked about her reaction to how the pageant's winners were announced, Riek replied, "I couldn't believe it. I was so upset because, for me, she was robbed...I was very happy for Colombia, actually. she really deserved it. But I'm very unhappy with the result and so were the other girls, I'm very sorry to say it." When Riek was asked why she and the other candidates went directly to Miss Colombia, Ariadna Gutierrez, after Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, Miss Philippines, was crowned as Miss Universe, Riek smiled and said, "Because no one of us voted for Philippines. I'm so sorry to say that." (See video below)





Because of that statement, Miss Riek got the ire of many pageant fanatics and soon afterwards, the facebook of Miss Universe Germany was flooded with bashings. Even the Miss Germany corporation fb page has been flooded with comments which prompted them to issue this statement:


Miss Germany Olga Hoffmann also issued an statement congratulating Miss Philippines and clarifying the role of her organization.



Later on, an apology was released on the Miss Universe-Germany Facebook page, saying that Sarah-Lorraine Riek never meant to offend Pia Wurtzbach in her controversial interview. Following her claim that "none of the girls" voted for Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach, Miss Universe Germany Sarah Lorraine Riek has issued an apology on Tuesday to the Filipina beauty queen. In a statement posted on the Facebook account of Miss Universe Germany, it was said that the 23-year-old Riek did not intend to offend Wurtzbach and admitted that she felt sorry for both her and Miss Colombia, Ariadna Gutierrez.

"This must have been the worst nightmare. She never intended to offend Miss Philippines in any way. She feels sorry for both girls. As well for Pia Miss Philippines that she didn’t have her real crowning moment," the statement, which has since been deleted, read.
It added: "She is really sorry if the video suggests anything else than that. It's an emotional roller coaster what happened yesterday in Las Vegas. She and all the other girls felt so sorry for Colombia at that moment. They could all imagine how this must feel. That's not the final result moment we wish for anyone. And also for Pia."
"Sarah-Lorraine is very happy a half German girl brings the crown of course a bit to Germany as well! Congrats to our friends of Philippines for winning the crown after all. She wishes Pia all the best for this year as Miss Universe 2015."

A screenshot of the statement of Miss Universe Germany uploaded on Facebook. The post has since been deleted

The drama again reached new heights when another friend of Miss Colombia, Miss Universe India 2015 Urvashi Rautela who was interviewed by ZeeNews India, claimed that the competition was biased (source) and further insinuating that there was diplomatic pressure on the judges as the venue of the next Miss Universe will be held in the Philippines (as to where Urvashi got the information is something to ponder on as no one from the Philippines seems to know about it and the MUO has not even announced the venue yet). Rautela never made it as Top 15 in the contest.


Miss Universe Australia 2015 Monika Radulovic appeared on Australian television to give some insights to what happened on the finals night. Miss Australia revealed that she and the other candidates knew that there had been a mistake in the announcement of the winner after Miss Colombia Ariadna Guttierez was declared Miss Universe on Sunday. In an exclusive interview with Sunrise, Australia’s bet Monika Radulovic who was in the top 5 during the competition, said the teleprompter flashed an instruction to Miss Philippines Pia Wurtzbach to take her first walk as the Miss Universe as Gutierrez was being crowned on the center stage. (watch the video below)



Meanwhile, another Latina beauty, Miss Universe El Salvador 2015 Idubina Rivas, appeared in a television show confirming what Miss Universe Australia had earlier stated in another Television interview. She revealed the reality of the crowning moment of Miss Universe 2015 in the video below:



Someone made a translation of the interview highlighting the most important part about what she said about the crowning moment:  

"we rehearsed all the show and even the first walk of the Miss Universe.. when the presentor said the name of the winner everybody was at a shock! because the other 77 candidates watched before on screen "teleprompter" the name of Philippines as the new Miss Universe, when he said "Colombia is the winner, everybody said - what's happening? - they knew that the presentor was wrong and had a mistake saying the name of the real winner (it is the reason for no one of the girls ran to hug Colombia and passed some minutes for the apology of the presentor)". 
Furthermore, Miss El Salvador said that she voted for Philippines to become Miss Universe 2015... 


The statement of Miss El Salvador was again confirmed by Miss Puerto Rico, Clarissa Molina in another interview and said that they were expecting Pia to win but was very surprised at the announcement. She also saw the teleprompter saying it was Miss Philippines.


Three days after the event, Ariadna Gutiérrez issued a statement on facebook and thanked people for their support and congratulated Miss Philippines on the title. "Your destiny is written for you," she wrote.


Miss Universe 2015 Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach the morning after her victory

Meanwhile, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach is flying to New York to start her responsibilities as the new Miss Universe 2015! I am pretty sure that once she gets into official business, all the brouhaha will die down and Pia will be doing a great job as Miss Universe 2015!

Pia on her way to the Big Apple

What about Steve Harvey? Well, it seems he is not out yet. The talk show host has received an invitation to return as the host of the Miss Universe pageant next year, despite what had happened. 

On Tuesday, Dec. 22, during an interview on Jim Rome’s CBS Sports Radio show, Mark Shapiro, chief content officer at WME|IMG, said the “Family Feud” host was “very remorseful” about the mistake and was “absolutely” welcome back to host the 2016 pageant. He added that Harvey “did a great job. He was funny, he was informative, he’s high energy, he’s got a great following. … I definitely want him back, and I would hate to see him not come back. He’s going to want a shot to redeem himself.” (source

Steve Harvey was also invited by the Belize Tourism Board to host their next big pageant (not MU2016) at the International Costa Maya Festival in August 2016.

So, what do you think? Five years ago, there was a similar wrong announcement of the winner in Australia’s Next Top Model competition but that it did not end with a bitter note. Watch how the runner-up reacted after the correction by the host:


If no mistake was made by the host in announcing the winner, Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, that is, then probably Miss Colombia will not get the attention she is getting today and will just remain in the sidelines as the first runner-up. And Miss Philippines could have experienced the real crowning moment as well as the solo attention of the world.

But that is water under the bridge. We just hope that everything will be alright after the storm and life will move on.

Again, congratulations Miss Universe 2015, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach of the Philippines!
Wow. Words can't describe how grateful I am for this. It was quite a journey getting here with 3 attempts at winning Miss Philippines. Now, I finally got the best Christmas gift ever – and not just for me, for my country. I'd like to say thank you to everyone who believed in my potential and those who supported me from the beginning. To everyone who voted for me, especially to my fellow countrymen, thank you. Maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat. To Ariadna, you are an amazing woman and we are now bonded together forever by a unique experience. In the last 3 weeks we were together, I saw how strong and beautiful you are inside and out. You represented your country with honor and I know how proud everyone must be of you. Fate has a plan for you, and I’m excited to see what’s ahead. And to all the fans who are still fighting about this…Please let's all stop now. The Miss Universe Organization is about uniting empowered women from all over the world. Arguing and sending hateful messages to each other defeats the whole purpose. You believe in the message of Miss Universe and so do I. Again, thank you for the love. I'm excited to begin my duties as Miss Universe and I wish everyone, all the contestants and all the supporters a great holiday with their loved ones. Happy Holidays and let's look forward to a great start to the new year! #MissUniverse - Pia


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